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1999 F-117A shootdown
| date = 27 March 1999 | time = 8:15 pm | objective = USAF aircraft | type = Aircraft shootdown | fatalities = | injuries = | executed_by = 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade, Army of Yugoslavia }} The 1999 F-117A shootdown was an incident that took place on 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, (Operation Allied Force, Operation Noble Anvil), when an Army of Yugoslavia unit used a SA-3 Goa to down a Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft of the United States Air Force. The pilot ejected and was rescued by search and rescue forces. This was the only time an F-117 was shot down. The US Air Force F-117A was developed in the 1970s, entering service in 1983 and officially revealed in 1988. It saw its first combat in 1989 over Panama, and was widely seen as one of the most advanced pieces of US military equipment. At the same time, Yugoslavian air defenses were seen as relatively obsolete. Downing Unknown to NATO, Yugoslav air defenses operators had found they could detect F-117s with their "obsolete" Soviet radars after some modifications. In 2005, Colonel Zoltán Dani confirmed in an interview suggested that those modifications involved using long wavelengths, allowing them to detect the aircraft when the wheel well or bomb bay doors where open. In addition, the Serbs had also intercepted and deciphered some NATO communications, and thus were able to deploy their anti-air batteries at positions best suited to intercept NATO planes. On March 27, 1999, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia, under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani, downed F-117 Air Force serial number 82-0806. The Army of Yugoslavia unit was equipped with a Yugoslav version of the Soviet Isayev S-125 "Neva" missile system (NATO reporting name, SA-3 "Goa").The S-125 was initially deployed by the Soviet Union in 1961. The V-600 or V-601 missiles launched by the S-125 were long, weighed at launch, could reach a speed of Mach 3–3.5 and carried a warhead. At about 8:15 pm local time, with a range of about several missiles were launched. According to Sergeant Dragan Matić, who was identified in 2009 as the soldier who fired the missiles, they detected the F-117 at a range of about , operating their equipment for no more than 17 seconds to avoid being locked on to by NATO anti-air suppression. According to Dani in a 2007 interview, his troops spotted the aircraft on radar when its bomb-bay doors opened, raising its radar signature. The F-117 was being flown by Lt. Col. Dale Zelko, an Operation Desert Storm veteran. He observed the launch of two missiles and saw them approach his aircraft. The first passed over him, close enough to cause buffeting, but did not detonate. However, the second missile did detonate, causing significant damage to the aircraft and causing it to tumble, out of control. The explosion was large enough to be seen from a KC-135 Stratotanker, flying over Bosnia. Zelko was subject to intense g-forces as the aircraft tumbled and had great difficulty in assuming the correct posture for ejecting. After his parachute deployed, he used his survival radio to issue a mayday call and was able to contact the KC-135 that had seen him shot down. Zelko used his survival radio while still descending as he reasoned the altitude would give his signal the best possible range. He was also sure he would be quickly captured by Serbian forces on the ground and wanted to confirm he was unhurt before this happened. Zelko landed in a field south of Ruma and quickly concealed himself in a drainage ditch. There, he felt the shock waves of American bombs dropped by B-2 bombers on targets on the outskirts of Belgrade. He remained undetected, despite a large search carried out in the area by the Serbian army, police and local villagers. He was rescued by a U.S. Air Force combat search and rescue team in the early hours of the next morning. He was initially misidentified in press reports as the name "Capt Ken 'Wiz' Dwelle" was painted on the aircraft's canopy. The lost F-117 carried the name "Something Wicked" and had previously flown 39 sorties during Operation Desert Storm. This was the only time an F-117 was shot down during its time in operational service. It was also the first time that a stealth aircraft has been shot down in the history of military aviation. Some American sources claim that a second F-117A was damaged during the same campaign, allegedly on 30 April; the aircraft returned to base, but it supposedly never flew again. The 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade also shot down a USAF F-16 fighter on May 2, 1999,Roberts, Chris. "Holloman commander recalls being shot down in Serbia". F-16.net, 7 February 2007. Retrieved: 16 May 2008.Anon. "F-16 Aircraft Database: F-16 Airframe Details for 88-0550". F-16.net. Retrieved: 16 May 2008. however these were the only two successes out of the dozens of ground–to–air missiles fired during the conflict. Aftermath Photographs show that the aircraft struck the ground at low speed in an inverted position, and that the airframe remained relatively intact. Some pieces of the F-117's wreckage are preserved at the Serbian Museum of Aviation in Belgrade, other pieces of wreckage were reportedly sent to Russia, to be used in developing anti-stealth technology. The USAF retired the F-117 in 2008. Zoltan Dani, now running a bakery, and Dale Zelko, now retired from the US Air Force, have met and developed a friendship in recent years. Notes References Dorr, Robert F. "USAF Fighter Force at 60". AirForces Monthly magazine, October 2007. Nixon, Mark. "Gallant Knights, MiG-29 in Action during Allied Force." AirForces Monthly magazine, January 2002. Dsouza, Larkins. "Who shot down F-117?" Defence Aviation, 8 February 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2011. "Colonel Dani." Defence Aviation, 8 February 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2011. Riccioni, Col. Everest E. "Description of our Failing Defence Acquisition System." Project on Government Oversight, 8 March 2005. Quote: "This event, which occurred during the Kosovo conflict on 27 March, was a major blow to the US Air Force. The aircraft was special: an F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber that should have been all but invisible to the Serbian air defences. And this certainly wasn't a fluke—a few nights later, Serb missiles damaged a second F-117." Pae, Peter. "Stealth fighters fly off the radar". Los Angeles Times, 23 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008. Logan, Don. Lockheed F-117 Nighthawks: A Stealth Fighter Roll Call. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7643-3242-5. "Damage said attributed to full moon." Nl.newsbank.com, 6 May 1999. Retrieved 19 February 2012. Smith, Charles R. "Russia Offers India $8 billion Weapons Deal". NewsMax.com 12 December 2001. Retrieved 20 January 2007. "How to Take Down an F-117." Strategy Page, 21 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2010. "Pilot recognizes crashed F-117A." usatoday.com. Retrieved 24 April 2010. }} External links * Vega 31: The Loss of #806 Category:Aircraft shootdown incidents Category:Aerial operations and battles of the Kosovo War Category:History of the United States Air Force Category:1999 in Yugoslavia Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1999 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Yugoslavia